Journal lubricating device



. soaked waste.

United States Patent f JOURNAL LUBRICATING DEVICE Victor J. Arblaster, Montreal, Quebec, Canada Application August 14, 1953, Serial No. 374,185

Claims. (Cl. 308-91) This invention relates to a lubricating device for conventional railway car journal boxes of the standard American Association of Railroads type, wherein the bearing is mounted in the upper part of the box, and the base of the box forms a lubricant receptacle. The usual current method for lubricating standard A. A. R. journal boxes is to fill the cavity beneath the journal with oil- There are several disadvantages associated with this method. The method is wasteful of lubricant and permits access of foreign material to the journal bearing; for example, threads from the oil-soaked waste may creep between the axle and its bearing, resulting in over-heating of the journal box. A further disadvantage is that the waste backs down away from the journal, and this requires re-working of the Waste with a packing tool at various stations so that the waste is once again brought up into contact with the journal. This re-working means high maintenance costs, and, incidentally,,an annoyance to any human freight who may be attempting to sleep.

Because of the disadvantages associated with this method, there have been brought forward a large number of proposals for alternative lubricating systems. The commonest proposal is, generally speaking, the provision of a roller which rolls in a bath of lubricating oil and carries the oil to the journal. My present invention is an improved version of this general proposal. So far as I am aware, none of these prior proposals have met with success, since they have proven unsatisfactory, either from the standpoint of effectiveness, or for reasons of economy. They have usually called for a special type of journal box, and for this reason have been too expensive to install. Some of the prior proposals have included a supporting structure for the lubricant-conveying roller which is held in place by bolts which pass through the holes in the lower portion of the journal box. This arrangement is considered an unsatisfactory one by railway equipment men, since the holes in the journal box provide a possible escape route for the lubricant in the base of the box. Other proposals have proved unsatisfactory since they have disposed the lubricating rollers and their mountings at points where they were virtually inaccessible for repair, maintenance, or replacement, due to the intervention of the journal collar between the roller and the access door of the box.

I have now found that these disadvanatges may be overcome by the provision of a lubricating device which comprises at least two flat-sided cylindrical lubricantconveying rollers, formed of a lubricant-resistant rubberlike material having a hardness of from about to as measured with a type A Shore durorneter, said rollers being mounted for rotation on non-rotating horizontal axles disposed below the journal (so that the rollers are partially immersed in a lubricant held in the receptacle formed by the base of the journal box); the said axles being spaced apart longitudinally of the journal, the axles being substantially coaxial with one another and parallel to the longitudinal axis of the journal; each of said rollers 2,731,307 Patented Jan. 17, 1956 being supported and biased to contact the journal at a point along its lowermost surface and be frictionally driven by the journal as the latter rotates, the means for supporting and biasing each roller being a spring-controlled arm Which extends from a point adjacent one of the inner side walls of the journal box and carries one of said axles at its outer end; and means for both detachably mounting each of said arms in said box and permitting said arms to rotate, transversely of the longitudinal axis of said journal, about axes which are parallel to said longitudinal axis and are adjacent said side wall.

The rollers may be made of any lubricant-resistant synthetic rubber or rubber-like material having a hardness falling within the range mentioned in the preceding paragraph. The surfaces of the rollers which contact the journal are preferably roughened to enhance frictional drive of the rollers Whenever the journal rotates. This roughened surface may be simply provided by rotating the roller against a grindstone. Alternatively, a surface resembling a tire tread may be cut or otherwise formed on the contact surfaces of the rollers. Rollers made from material of the type described have been found to give good service whether the box be cold or hot, and Whether grease or oil is employed as the lubricant. Rollers formed of generally similar materials but which have a hardness on either side of the range 20 to 25 (using a type A Shore durometer hardness tester), or the range 300 to 350 (using a Pusey and Jones type hardness tester, with a /13 inch ball), have proved unsatisfactory. I prefer to employ a synthetic rubber having a Shore hardness of about 21 or a Pusey and Jones hardness of about 320; but I believe rollers made from any synthetic rubber or rubber-like material falling within the general hardness ranges mentioned will give a long service life and will not mar or scratch the journal.

The rollers, and the arms, etc., which support them, may simply be removed from the journal box through the access door, and it is a simple matter to replace a roller which has become worn through long service. I have found that it requires only about three minutes to remove and replace a set of rollersin an installed journal box lubricating device made according to my invention; which of course means saving of a very appreciable amount of time when compared with those cases where it was necessary to jack up the box to effect repairs or replacement of the rollers.

In the drawings illustrating the presently preferred embodiment of my invention:

Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal view, partly in section and partly in elevation, of a conventional railway car journal box provided with the lubricating device of my invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged view of the portion of Figure 1 below and to the left of the cranked line 22, a portion of the journal having been broken away so as to better reveal the means for detachably mounting the arms;

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the lubricating device alone; showing it however in the position it would occupy when installed in a journal box; and

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 in Figure 3.

In these drawings, reference numeral 11% indicates a portion of a railroad car axle having a journal 11 at its end. Journal 11 extends into a journal box generally indicated by reference numeral 12. Journal box 12 is of the standard A. A. R. type having, at its inner end, spaced partitions l3 and 14 through which openings 15' extend for the reception of the car axle it). A dust guard 16 of conventional construction is concentrically mounted on the axle with its outer portions extending into the space between the partitions l3 and 14. Journal box 12 is provided with a hinged access door 17 through which a lubricant may be added to the box and through which access may be had to the interior of the box for purposes of maintenance, repair, or replacement of portions of the lubricating device according to the invention, which will be described in considerable detail later on in this specification. A lubricant, indicated by reference numeral 18, is-maintainedrin the base of the box to approximately the depth shown. This lubricant may be either a lubricating oil or grease.

A fbearing, generally indicated by reference numeral 19, -is mounted in the upper part of the box and engages the upper portion of the journal 11. Bearing 19 is quite conventional and essentially comprises a bearing proper 20a, which engages the journal, and a wedge 20b which is disposed between the bearing proper and the roof or" theibox 12.

p All the elements described thus far with reference to the drawings are well known, and the description has therefore been brief. The features of my novel lubricating device will now be described in a more detailed manner.

My new lubricating device, in the embodiment shown in the drawings, comprises a pair of cylindrical lubricantconveying rollers 21 and 22 formed of a lubricant-resistant rubber-like material having a hardness of from about 20 to 25 as measured with a type A Shore durometer, or a'hardness of from about 300 to 350 as measured with a Pusey and Jones hardness tester using a /s ball; the rollers 21 and 22 being mounted for rotation on nonrotating horizontal axles 23 and 24', respectively, the axles being disposed below the journal 11 and spaced apart longitudinally of the journal with their axes substantially coaxial with one another. The spaced-apart axles 23 and 24 which support the rollers 21 and 22 are disposed parallel to the longitudinal axis of the journal, and each roller is so supported and biased that it contacts journal 1'1 at a point along its lowermost surface and will be frictionally driven by the journal as the latter rotates.

Roller 21 is carried by a spring-controlled arm 25 which extends from a point adjacent one of the inner side walls of the journal box 12 and carries the axle 23 at its outer end. Roller 22 is carried by a spring-controlled arm 26 which is similar to arm 25 and extends from a point which is adjacent the same inner side wall of the journal box but is considerably forward of the point from which the arm 25 extends. Arms 25 and 26 are detachably mounted within the journal box in such a manner that they may, with a minimum of djfiiculty, be taken out of the box altogether through the access door 17 for repair or for replacement of one of the rollers. The arms 25 and 26 are also so mounted that they are rotatable,

transversely of the longitudinal axis of the journal 11, about axes which are parallel to said longitudinal axis and are adjacent the side wall from which the arms extend.

The means for mounting the arms 25 and 26 and biasingthese arms so that the rollers 21 and 22 normally contact the lowermost surface of the journal 11 will now be described. A channel-shaped member 27 is welded or otherwise rigidly secured to the inner side wall of the box 12 on which the arms are to be mounted, and two generally rectangular plates28 and29 are provided which are slidable longitudinally .in the channel member 27 :but may not be withdrawn laterally of the channel member, once they have been slid thereinto, due to the fact that the side walls of the channel member are bent inwardly. The channel member 27 is closed at its inner end as indicated at 30, but is open at the end nearest the access door 17 so that the rectangular plates 28 and 29 may be slipped into the retaining channel. A pin 31 is rigidly secured at its opposite ends in brackets 33 and 34 which extend from the plate 28. The arm 25 is bifurcated at the end opposite the roller 2.1, and the bifurcations have been labelled 25a and 25b. Aligned holes 250 and 25d 4. are provided in the bifurcations 25a and 25b respectively, and the arm 25 is rotatably mounted upon the pin 31 by passing the pin through the brackets 33 and 34 and the aligned holes 250 and 25d and then passing a split pin 35 through alignable holes in the bracket 34 and in one end of the pin 31.

Arm 26 is mounted on a pin 36 secured to generally rectangular plate 29 in exactly the same manner as arm 25 is mounted on the pin 31 attached to the plate 28. I will therefore simply point out that in the case of arm 26 the bifurcations are labelled 26a and 26b, the brackets 38 and 39, and the split pin 40. V

The arms 25 and 26 carrying the rollers 21 and 22 may be mounted within the journal box as follows. The rectangular plate 28, carrying the arm 25 and the roller 21, is slipped into the channel member 27 through its open end and is pushed along until it contacts the end closure 34) of the member 27.- A spacing element such as the element labelled 41 in Figure 2 is then inserted in the channel-shaped member. Spacer element 41 is of the same width as the plate-like members 28 and 29 and is of a length which is selected to give the desired longitudinal spacing, with respect to the journal 11 of the rollers 21 and 22. The generally rectangular plate 29, carrying the roller-supporting arm 26 and the roller 22, is then slipped into the channel member 27 until it comes into contact with the outer .end of the spacer member 41. The plates and the spacer member are then looked against longitudinal sliding within the channel member by inserting an L-shaped member 42 in the channel-shaped member at its outer end and passing a split-,pin 43 'or the like through aligned holes in the side walls of the channel member at points adjacent its open end. A portion ,of the L-shaped member 42 extends outwardly from the channel member towards the journal 11 for a distance sufficient to lock plate member 29, and therefore spacer 41 and plate member 28, within the channel.

The means for biasing the arm 25 so that the roller 21 is normally held in contact with the journal 11 is a torsion spring 44 having a central coiled portion 44a which 'is generally concentrically mounted on the portion of the pin .31 which lies between the bifurcations 25a and 25b, one end of the spring 44' being attached to the arm 25 at a point 45 which is adjacent the point of bifurcation of the arm, and the other end of the spring bearing against the plate member 28 as indicatedat 48. Arm 26 is similarly biased by a torsion spring 46 having a central coiled portion 46a, one end of spring 46 being attached to ,arm 26 ,at point 47, and the other end bearing against ,plate 29 as indicated at 48a. 1 It will be appreciated that the coiled portions 44a and 46a of torsion springs 44 and '46, respectively, would have to beslipped on the pins 31 and 36, respectively, when the arms 25 and 26 arebeingpina mounted on the plates 28 and 29 respectively. When the arms 25 and 26 have been rotated about ,the pins 31:and,3 6 to position the rollers in the earlier-defined position with respect to the journal 11, the free ends of the springs 44 and 46 bear tightly against the plates 28 and 29 at 46 :and 48 respectively, and the springs are .torsioned, ,i. :e. loaded.

The non-rotatinghorizontal axles 23 and 24 are threaded at one end and are secured to arms 25 :and 26 by passing their threaded ends through suitable holes adjacent the outer ends of the arms, and then .applyingnuts 49 and 50 respectively, as well as split pins .49a and 50a, to assure retention of the nuts.

Mounted on the ends of axles 2.3 and 24, opposite the nuts 49 and 50 are sealed ball bearings .51 and .52 of.

versely through the discs and the body of the roller, the ends of the pins being bent through about 90 degrees after passage through the discs and the roller. The discs 53 and 54 are formed of an appreciably stiffer material than the material of the roller body, and their purpose is of course to impart lateral rigidity to the roller.

A lubricating device having two rollers, as shown in the drawings, has been found to adequately lubricate small journals, e. g. those having a length of about 9 inches and a diameter of about 5 inches. With somewhat large journals, e. g. those having a length of about 11 inches and a diameter of about 6 inches, I prefer to make use of three rollers. This can be simply done by making use of a slightly longer channel-shaped member 27, mounting the three rollers on three plates instead of two rollers on the two plates 28 and 29, and employing between each adjacent pair of plates, a spacing element like element 41 but of shorter length. With journals which are larger still, e. g. having a length of about 12 inches and a diameter of about 6 /2 inches, I find it best to use four rollers. In such a case I provide, in effect two of the lubricating devices shown in the drawings, fixing a channel member 27 to each side wall of the box 12, and detachably mounting two roller carrying arms in each channel member. When four rollers are thus employed care shoud be exercised in choosing the length of, and in locating, the elements used to space the roller-supporting arms in the channel members 27. Those skilled in the mechanical arts will have no difliculty in making suitable choices in this connection, since they will appreciate that the desideratum here is to equally space the four rollers longitudinally of the journal.

What I claim as my invention is:

l. A lubricating arrangement comprising, a railway car journal, a railway car journal box of the type wherein a bearing is mounted in the upper part of the box to engage said journal and the base of the box forms a lubricant receptacle, a lubricating device for said journal, said device comprising at least two fiat-sided cylindrical lubricant-conveying rollers formed of a rubbery material having a hardness from about 20 to 25 as measured with a type A Shore durometer, said rollers being mounted for rotation on non-rotating horizontal axles disposed below said journal, said axles being spaced apart longitudinally of the journal and being substantially co-axial with one another and substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of said journal, each of said rollers being supported and biased to contact said journal at a point along its lowermost surface and be frictionally rotated by said journal as the latter rotates, the means for supporting and biasing each roller comprising a spring-controlled arm which extends from a point adjacent one of the inner side walls of said journal box and carries one of said axles at its outer end, and means for both detachably mounting each of said arms in said box and permitting said arms to rotate transversely of the longitudinal axis of said journal about axes which are parallel to said longitudinal axis and adjacent said side wall, said arms being bifurcated at the ends thereof opposite said rollers, said means for detachably rotatably mounting each of said arms comprising a plate detachably mounted at a point adjacent said side-wall, a pin secured at its opposite ends to brackets extending from said plate, the bifurcations of said arm being disposed between said brackets and being provided with aligned holes for the passage therethrough of said pin during the mounting of said arm.

2. A lubricating arrangement comprising, a railway car journal, a railway car journal box of the type wherein a bearing is mounted in the upper part of the box to engage said journal and the base of the box forms a lubricant receptacle, a lubricating device for said journal, said device comprising at least two flat-sided cylindrical lubricant-conveying rollers formed of a rubbery material having a hardness from about 20 to 25 as measured with a type A Shore durometer, said rollers being mounted for rotation on non-rotating horizontal axles disposed below said journal, said axles being spaced apart longitudinally of the journal and being substantially co-axial with one another and substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of said journal, each of said rollers being supported and biased by spring means to contact said journal at a point along its lowermost surface and be frictionally rotated by said journal as the latter rotates, the means for supporting and biasing each roller comprising a sprin -controlled arm which extends from a point adjacent one of the inner side walls of said journal box and carries one of said axles at its outer end, and means for both detachably mounting each of said arms in said box and permitting said arms to rotate transversely of the longitudinal axis of said journal about axes which are parallel to said longitudinal axis and adjacent said side wall, said arms being bifurcated at the ends thereof opposite said rollers, said means for detachably rotatably mounting each of said arms comprising a plate detachably mounted at a point adjacent said side wall, a pin secured at its opposite ends to brackets extending from said plate, the bifurcations of said arm being disposed between said brackets and being provided with aligned holes for the passage therethrough of said pin during the mounting of said arms, said spring means which biases each roller into contact with said journal being a torsion spring having a central coiled portion which is generally concentrically mounted on the portion of said pin which lies between said bifurcations, one end of said torsion spring being attached to said arm adjacent its point of bifurcation, the other end of said torsion spring bearnig against said plate member and torsioning said torsion spring when said arm has been rotated on said pin to position said roller in its defined position.

3. A lubricating arrangement comprising, a railway car journal, a railway car journal box of the type Wherein a bearing is mounted in the upper part of the box to engage said journal and the base of the box forms a lubricant receptacle, a lubricating device for said journal, said device comprising at least two flat sided cylindrical lubricant-conveying rollers formed of a rubbery material having a hardness from about 20 to 25 as measured with a type A Shore durometer, said rollers being mounted for rotation on non-rotating horizontal axles disposed below said journal, said axles being spaced apart longitudinally of the journal and being substantially co-axial with one another and substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of said journal, each of said rollers being supported and biased to contact said journal at a point along its lowermost surface and be frictionally rotated by said journal as the latter rotates, the means for supporting and biasing each roller comprising a spring-controlled arm which extends from a point adjacent one of the inner side walls of said journal box and carries one of said axles at its outer end, and means for both detachably mounting each of said arms in said box and permitting said arms to rotate transversely of the longitudinal axis of said journal about axes: which are parallel to said longitudinal axis and adjacent said side wall, each of said rollers being rotatably mounted on its axle by means of a ball-bearing assembly and having its lateral rigidity increased by the securement of bot its flat sides of circular discs formed of an appreciably stiffer material than said rubber material, said discs being secured in place by pins passing generally transversely through both said discs and the body of said roller.

4. A lubricating arrangement comprising, a railway car journal, a railway car journal box of the type wherein a bearing is mounted in the upper part of the box to engage said journal and the base of the box forms a lubricant receptacle, a lubricating device for said journal, said device comprising at least two flat-sided cylindrical lubricant-conveying rollers formed of a rubbery material having a hardness from about 20 to 25 as measured with 7 a type A Show durometer, said rollers being mounted for rotation on non-rotating horizontal axles disposed below said journal, said axles being spaced apart longitudinally of the journal and being substantially co-axial with one another and substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of said journal, each of said rollers being supported and biased to contact said journal at a point along its lowermost surface and be frictionally rotated by said journal as the latter rotates, the means for supporting and biasing each roller comprising a spring-controlled arm which extends from a point adjacent one of the inner side walls of said journal box and carries one of said axles at its outer end, and means for both 'detachably mounting each of said arms in said box and permitting said arms to rotate transversely of the longitudinal axis of said journal about axes which areparallel to said longitudinal axis and adjacent said side wall, said means for detachably mounting said arms in said box comprising at least two generally rectangular plates each carrying a fixed pin on which one of said arms is rotatably mounted, a channelshaped member secured to said sidewall and extending in general parallelism with the longitudinal axis of the journal, said channel member being opened at the end thereof nearest the outer end of the journal and closed at the other end, said plates being slidable longitudinally of said channel member but removable therefrom only by sliding out of the open end thereof, at least one plate-like spacer member insertable in said channel member to maintain the de sired amount of spacing between said plates, and thereby secure the desired longitudinal spacing of said rollers with respect to said journal, and means for locking said plates and said spacer against longitudinal sliding in said channel member. 7

5. A lubricating arrangement 'comprising, a railway car journal, a railway car journal box of the type wherein a bearing is mounted in the upper part of the box to engage said journal and the base of the box forms a lubricant receptacle, a lubricating device for said journal, said device comprising at least two flat-sided cylindrical lubricant-conveying rollers formed of a rubbery material having a hardness from about to as measured with a type A Shore durometer, said rollers being mounted for rotation on non-rotating horizontal axles disposed below said journal, said axles being spaced apart longitudinally of the journal and being substantially coaxial with one another and substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of said journal, each of said rollers being supported and biased to contact said journal at a point along its lowermost surface and be frictionally rotated by said journal as the latter rotates, the means for supporting and biasing each roller comprising a spring-controlled arm which extends from a point adjacent one of the inner side walls of said journal box and carries one of said axles at its outer end, and means for both detachably mounting each of said arms in said box and permitting said arms to rotate transversely of the longitudinal axis of said journal about axes which are parallel to said longitudinal axis and adjacent said side wall, said means for detachably mounting said arms in said box comprising at least two generally rectangular plates each carrying a fixed pin on which one of said arms is rotatably mounted, a channel-shaped member secured to said sidewall and extending in general parallelism with the longitudinal axis of the journal, said channel member being opened at the end thereof nearest the outer end of the journal and closed at the other end, said plates being slidable longitudinally of said channel'mernber but removable therefrom only by sliding out of the open end thereof, at least one plate-like spacer member insertable in said channel member to maintain the desired amount of spacing between said plates, and thereby secure the desired longitudinal spacing of said rollers with respect to said journal, and means for locking said plates and said spacer against longitudinal sliding in said channel member, said locking device comprising an L-shaped element insertable in the open end of the channel member, the walls forming sides of the channel member having aligned holes therein, said aligned holes being located. adjacent the open end of the channel, and a pin insertable through said aligned holes to hold said .L.- shaped member when the latter has been inserted in said open end.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Fritzsimmons June 3, r 1952 

